He measured the distance between the front right corner of River's head to the back left corner, and then compared that with the measurement between the front left corner and back right corner (as if you were to draw an X above his head). The difference was 11mm, and they usually recommend treatment for any kiddo with a difference greater than 6 mm.
The good news is that the cranial shaping bands (aka helmets) are effective up until about 15 months when the skull plates fuse together, and he'll be wearing the device through the winter rather than the hot summer months.
The bad new is that he has to wear it 23 hours a day (just removing it for bathing and to clean the helmet) for 3 to 4 months.
The extra bad news is that our insurance company absolutely, without excpetion, beyond the scope of appeals, does not cover such a thing.
Despite what the insurance company believes, this is not just a cosmetic issue. Plagiocephaly can cause developmental problems. Our doctor thinks we need to do something about it. The orthotics specialist agrees. Let's just add another $1,500 to our growing list of monthly medical payments...
We're going back Nov 23rd for a fitting. Basically, they are going to create a digital map of his skull with lasers (the same idea behind green-screen technology in the movies...), and then they'll make his helmet within the next week.
I asked about the chemical components of the outer shell on the helmet (the inside is a kind of foam), particularly if there is any bpa involved. The specialist had absolutley no idea what I was talking about. What's bpa? Really? So I educated him, and he said he'd look into it, and that I get a gold star on my forehead. I guess I really don't want to know either way, since there isn't much I can do about it at this point.
They do have fun pattern options, and I am already brainstorming a handknit helmet cover for the cold weather.
In the meantime, I'm keeping his head warm with the hat I knit him earlier in the fall. You can read more about it here, where I entered it in a handknit baby hat contest.
And because he seems to be the king of weird medical issues, I also had to take him the pediatrician yesterday because he was on day 3 of a persistent nose bleed that seemed to be worsening. Talk about alarming: imagine turning around to see your baby's upper lip covered in blood every hour or so...
The doctor said his nostril was very red and irritated, likely from the change in weather combined with the sniffles we've all been passing around.
I was sent home with a shopping list for vaseline and neosenephrine to try and getting the bleeding to stop and allow his nasal lining to heal.
It's much better today. Only one nosebleed when he first woke up this morning, and none since.
Next Wednesday he is scheduled for allergy testing (and the same for Liam the following week). We're cramming in all of these medical things the insurance company will actually cover before the end of the year when our deductible rolls back to $2,000.
So here's the deal, River, if you must have more medical glitches, let's get them all worked out by December 31st. Okay?
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